Tuesday, 16 July 2013

Ciboulette et Cie

Well, it's 34 degrees celsius outside today, so I decided it would be a great day to write a little bit on the computer in the basement. Apparently, it's the hottest day recorded yet in the city of Barrie. This scorcher of a day is not unlike the June day when I accompanied the Huronia Food Trail media tour on it's rounds of the north end of Simcoe County. Thank goodness for air conditioned coach buses ... and basements!

One of our stops was the simple and lovely Ciboulette et Cie (Chive and Company, in English) located at 248 King St. in Midland. We stepped into a beehive of activity - customers lined up to pay for their goodies, others choosing still, servers serving and cooks cooking - and in walked 30 writers and food bloggers. The shop is current, yet vintage. Set in a long, narrow Victorian era shop, Ciboulette et Cie has the exposed structure and barn board accents you might find in a loft. There are signs overhead to direct you to where you want to be, whether it be coffee and pastries or the take out counter, and something I've never seen before - a store map.

We were waved to the back of the shop where we were introduced to the chef and owner, a seemingly young, dark haired French gentleman, Andre Sanche. A true Midland son, I thought to myself. I was surprised to learn that Andre actually hails from a francophone community much farther north, the small city of Elliot Lake, Ontario. "My husband is from Elliot Lake." I shared. "I like him already!" replied the youthful chef.

Andre is very enthusiastic about what he does. His shop offers home style meals and baked goods to eat now, eat later or stock up your freezer. He has gone to great lengths to partner with his fellow Huronia Food Trail members and others to cook with the most fresh, in-season and local ingredients that he can get his hands on. He even goes beyond food items and sources his staff aprons, wall decor and floral arrangements from local producers as well.

It's a great little place to nose around in. It reminds me a little of a smaller version of the Mariposa Market in Orillia. You can get an entree for your supper tonight, some preserves, maybe some fresh produce, don't forget some dessert and even the dinnerware to serve it on, all under this one roof.

Don't go to Midland without stopping into Ciboulette et Cie. Lucky Midland residents - they can drop in every day! It's the next best thing to cooking dinner from scratch using your own garden produce, but on a day like this I would prefer to stay out of both my kitchen and my garden! Let Andre take care of dinner tonight. Merci, chef!